Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, separated after she learned he had fathered a child more than a decade ago - before his first run for office - with a longtime member of their household staff.

Shriver moved out of the family's Brentwood mansion earlier this year, after Schwarzenegger acknowledged the paternity. The staff member worked for the family for 20 years, retiring in January.

You know, the Terminator wasn't a big "family values" kinda politician who constantly judged other folks' relationships and weighed them against some 1950's throwback of the "perfect family." I'm all for judging hypocrites and finding them lacking (*cough* Ted Haggard, John Ensign, Larry Craig *cough*), but this just leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Yes, he cheated on his wife. But he did the right thing and took financial responsibility for the baby and didn't try to escape his duty to the woman and her child. Since when is that a bad thing?

After the jump is video of local news asking people in the street how they feel about Schwarzenegger's confession and love child and another video of Shriver asking YouTube viewers advise on helping handling "transitions in life"

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Actually, Arnold's history of being politically anti-same-sex marriage was parallel to when this happened. So he IS a hypocrite, even if he neutrally came around to being ambivalent at the end of his career.

And I also think that you give him too much credit about "doing the right thing". A famous celebrity and budding politician with a high profile marriage trying to abandon his financial responsibilities for his illegitimate child? She only has to order a blood test and go to the press for it to all crash down on his head if he tried to wiggle out of it. It was his ONLY option. He isn't that stupid to think that he could get away with something like that.

I just got on Larry Elder's radio show earlier this morning and mentioned that twice Arnold vetoed the legislation's vote on marriage equality. Had he not done that, I think that the state would have had a lot more time to get used to legal marriage in CA, and the ballot measure might not have ever happened.

Larry asked my how his decision to veto on gay marriage was relevant here. I explained that A.S., like many other politicians state emphatically that they believe in the protection of marriage from gay people. That it's sanctity will be damaged or compromised by gay couples participating in it. Mores the point, these politicians and law makers as they run for office, parade their own families before the public as if these exemplify leading by example.

Imagine how gay couples, who pay taxes and participate in the responsibility and welfare of our state, couples committed for decades, who have adopted needy children from state dependency feel whenever these hypocrites damage the lives of gay people as well as their own families? It's a disgrace for anyone to have to suffer these kinds of men in leadership.

Larry, who supports marriage equality said this is another reason why the state shouldn't be in the marriage business. Larry also said that A.S. changed his stance later on. Personally when he did, it was too little too late. It cost us a great deal more than whatever he did would have reversed.

At any rate, I tried to say something to the public on how this sort of thing plays out for real people and whoever touts 'family values' especially in trying to uphold discrimination against gay families, deserves much more serious scrutiny and purging from lawmaking whenever possible.

"Yes, he cheated on his wife. But he did the right thing and took financial responsibility for the baby and didn't try to escape his duty to the woman and her child. Since when is that a bad thing?"

I agree with the not being a scold on personal issues & providing for the kid financially. But - he didn't tell his wife for ten years - while the mother worked in their home. I'm pretty sure I'd be pissed over that. And - the kid grew up having a check for a father - not acknowledged - no relationship or guidance. That's not really a good thing.

And - let's remember his nickname "The Gropenator". Which doesn't point towards treating women respectfully very much - neither does having an affair with someone you supervise. Who relies on you for her livelihood. I think there's more going on here.

Agreed. What makes up for an "illegitimate" child's constant exclusion from the public life of the cash-paying celebrity parent? There's something very wrong about this kid potentially seeing the family Arnold chooses to call his own at a variety of activities, public and private, and always being the secret, and denied that existence.

The mistress continued to work in the family home 10 YEARS after the birth of the baby, among Maria Shriver and their four kids. Isn't that rotten?

Although the kid was born 10 years ago, when did the diddling between them cease? Did this occur in the family home also? The employee was under the family's roof until Jan 2011. This smells pretty rotten. I do not think that it was a one time poke that unluckily got her preggers. Does the "extra" child now resemble one of the Shriver kids so much that Arnie was shamed into admitting the truth? Have the four half-siblings had any relationship with this child, unknowing that they are related? Has the child been denied knowing his brothers and sisters ? Has this kid had a father in his/her life, or is it a secret from the kid also? It all shows a pretty low set of values for narcissistic Arnold. He hid all this from his wife as he launched his political career, then kept it hidden until he left office. He previously had the audacity to state that he thought that the US Constitution should be amended to let him run for President. I guess he thought he could keep his secret a bit longer.

For me, even if Schwarzenegger wasn't promoting himself as a paragon of virtue, he was pandering to Catholics, Mormons, and evangelicals by vetoing marriage equality.

It strikes me as an blatant exercise of hetero privilege: Marriage is too pure and holy to share equally with same-sex couples, but those who have it are free to use it in any fashion they choose.

There's also the concern about abuse of power. Maybe he was a model adulterer and did not exploit his role as her employer, but you can't erase the imbalance of power there.

The power imbalance was financial, as well. He brought assets to the situation which not only dwarfed hers, but could be used without impacting his wife and older kids.

What bothers me most is the level at which he had to make cold calculations about supporting his kid and lying to his family for 10 years. Ostensibly that was out of sync with his personal values, but his conscience about hurting his loved ones took a back seat to his political aspirations. Once done with politics, the conscience has resurfaced.

While the family stuff is not the public's concern, the possibility that civil rights similarly took a back seat to his political aspirations is. Did the marriage equality vetoes reflect his principled understanding of the issues, or cold, hard calculations contrary to his own conscience?

These comments are all twisted. I'd hit the bed with Arnold in a flash. He's sexy, rich, famous and attractive. What's the problem here? So far what I see is a bunch of prudes who want to cling to the old biblical standards. Sheesh people, get a life.

I really do not think his personal life matters. I could care less, it does not change what I feel about him. We are not penguins, we do not mate for life, thats why we try so many on before we get married, and sometimes after. The news and people making this the headlining news are ridiculous at best, who really cares? I certainly do not care, he can go Commando with me anytime. For those of you who think that Maria did not know, C'MON, lets get real!! She new, but she wanted the power as well, do not disregard whom her family is. I do not think as "Bose" does, did it affect his politics? Really? I'll agree with some comments, but to use this to say that he voted against Marriage Equality? Bull, hes a republican, and in the Kennedy family, he has those values to uphold, however much he chooses. JMHO, if it makes sense....